Flash Flood in Pike County, Mississippi

A social media post showed dozens of portable buildings flooded or floating along Highway Highway 48 near Union Church Road.

A very moist and moderately unstable airmass was in place across southwest Mississippi during the morning of January 10th. Precipitable water values were around 1.7 inches, well above the climatological 90th percentile and near record for this time of year. A prefrontal convergence zone, enhanced by outflow boundaries and strong low-level moisture transport, supported a corridor of training showers and thunderstorms along the Louisiana/Mississippi border into southwest Mississippi. Within this environment, repeated rounds of heavy rainfall produced rain rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour. Training convection resulted in widespread rainfall totals of several inches with localized amounts approaching or exceeding a foot of rain across portions of Amite and Pike Counties over a relatively short period. This led to widespread flash flooding, including inundated roadways, stranded vehicles, flooded structures, and rapidly rising rivers and creeks.